The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Jess Franco
STARRING: Christopher Lee, Maria Perschy, Richard Greene
Rated: UR/Region O/1:67/4K (2160p)/Number of Discs 2
Available from Blue Underground
In the feverish stew of 1960s exploitation cinema, The Blood of Fu Manchu is a vintage slice of deranged pulp escapism that’s equal parts absurd, charmingly cheap, and totally hypnotic. It’s a movie that asks, “What if James Bond was bitten by a sexy, mind-controlled snake woman on a remote South American plantation owned by a Chinese supervillain played by a very white Christopher Lee?” The answer, as it turns out, is: something weird, vaguely offensive, and definitely unforgettable.
Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee in his fifth outing as the iconic—if problematic—villain) has found a new way to paralyze the Western world: beautiful women, brainwashed and infected with a venomous kiss, are sent out as deadly assassins. One kiss from these femme fatales, and you’re poisoned, paralyzed, and doomed. As one character eloquently puts it, “It’s the kiss of death—with lipstick.”
Meanwhile, intrepid adventurer Nayland Smith (Richard Greene) and his bumbling sidekick Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford, always game) are hot on Fu’s trail, following a convoluted path that includes jungle expeditions, underground lairs, secret snake laboratories, and a lot of stock footage of South American wildlife. The action stumbles forward in fits and starts, stitched together by jazzy music, odd zooms, and enough softcore sleaze to make even a grindhouse blush.
Jess Franco, the Eurocult madman responsible for hundreds of films ranging from genius to gibberish, injects The Blood of Fu Manchu with his trademark chaos. There’s an undeniable dreamlike quality to the film—scenes drift into each other with little narrative sense but a lot of mood. Expect odd angles, zoom-happy camerawork, and a fair amount of Franco’s sleazy tendencies. At times, it feels less like a movie and more like a fever dream remembered after a bad curry and a Vincent Price marathon.
This is Franco operating on pure instinct: no-budget jungle sets, psychedelic lighting, and snake charming women in diaphanous outfits. It’s trash—but glorious trash.
You’d be forgiven for thinking The Blood of Fu Manchu would never receive a 4K release. After all, it’s the kind of film you’d expect to find on a dusty VHS under the couch of a long-closed video rental store. But miracle of miracles, it now exists in sparkling UHD thanks to Blue Underground, and honestly? It’s a revelation.
The new 4K scan from the original camera negative breathes new life into the film—well, as much life as a hazy, low-budget pulp thriller can manage. Detail is impressively sharp in close-ups, revealing every wrinkle in Lee’s brow and the seams of his Fu Manchu wig. Colors pop in unexpected places—jungle greens, blood reds, and the garish makeup of the killer femmes.
That said, the film’s age and cheap origins are still present. Grain is heavy in darker scenes, and the transitions from stock footage to real footage are hilariously obvious. But overall, it’s never looked better—probably better than it ever did in theaters.
Extras
Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
- Trailers
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
- The Rise of Fu Manchu – Interviews with Director Jess Franco, Producer Harry Alan Towers, and Stars Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, & Shirley Eaton
- NEW! Sanguine-Stained Celluloid – Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of “Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco”
- Trailers
- NEWLY EXPANDED! Poster & Still Gallery
- NEW! RiffTrax Edition – THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU Riffed by Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy (77
Mins.)
